Kojirō arc
The Kojirō arc is the sixth of the story arcs in Vagabond, and it shows the events corresponding to Kojirō Sasaki's early years. Summary After a reversal to 17 years before the story's start, Kojirō Sasaki's difficult upbringing with Jisai Kanemaki adopting him, various displays of character backstories, timeskip to when Kojirō is 9 and the village's crisis with their protector Yūgetsusai Fudō, its aftermath, timeskip to when Kojirō is 17 and Ittōsai returns dragging Kojirō to a night fight, its aftermath, the travels of Kojirō, Ittōsai and Gonnosuke with a brief encounter with Takezō at the battlefield of Sekihagara, their splitting, the situation of Sadakore's squad, the fights against the peasant groups, Kojirō's fight against Sadakore's squad. Duration Chapters: 128–179 Volumes: 14–20 Kojirō's upbringing The story stops, and goes back in time to 17 years before the events shown at the story's start. Kojirō Sasaki's backstory is shown. Late spring of 1583. The Kitanosho Castle is about to be destroyed in the Battle of Shizugatake. The baby Kojirō is sent to his father's former master, Jisai Kanemaki, to avoid death. Jisai adopts him. The story then shows Kojirō's difficult upbringing: Kojirō is deaf and has a natural gift for the sword; Jisai is an old fallen swordmaster, now living in poverty, who lost his status when he was defeated by his student Ittōsai Itō, thus he tries to keep Kojirō away from the path of the sword; both live marginalized by the villagers. Fudō's menace All changes when Kojirō is 9. After a bad year for fishing, the village hasn't resources for the tribute to their protector, Yūgetsusai Fudō, who also takes their girls when they turn 14. They decide to kill him, and ask Jisai for help, knowing he is a swordmaster. He accepts. Kojirō makes friends with the local kids after defeating them in a fight, their leader Tenki Kusanagi becomes his best friend. However, Fudō arrives. The village prepares the attack, but Kojirō and Tenki get ahead and burn Fudō's house, starting the fight. Fudō defeats Tenki, but Kojirō amputates his right arm. However, Fudō continues and is about to defeat Kojirō. Right then, Jisai and the villagers arrive. Jisai kills Fudō. The village celebrates and gives Jisai honors, but he declines and continues living humbly. His classes start to have many students, but he denies entry to Kojirō. From then on, Jisai and Kojirō battle everyday, with Jisai always winning and repeating he won't teach him the sword. Ittōsai's return Timeskip to when Kojirō is 17. Autumn. The village uneases in the prelude of the Battle of Sekigahara. Ittōsai Itō returns, much to the dismay of his former master Jisai, and meets Kojirō. Contrary to Jisai, Ittōsai affirms that Kojirō is a natural fighter. That night Ittōsai is at the beach, when he is challenged by a group of 5 swordsmen that includes the Yoshioka members Denshichirō Yoshioka and Ryōhei Ueda. Ittōsai sees Kojirō nearby and invites him. Then, Ittōsai orders the men to fight each other until there is one left standing, who will fight him. A fighter is killed, then Kojirō enters and defeats other two. Then Kojirō fights Denshichirō. The two are novice and have numerous problems during the fight. After they have lost too much blood, they hurry to a final collision. Kojirō wins. In the fight's aftermath, while Kojirō and Denshichirō recover, all characters coincide that Kojirō's destiny is to become a formidable fighter. Jisai finally understands this and concedes. He entrusts Kojirō to Ittōsai. After Kojirō recovers, he departs with Ittōsai. Some time later, Jisai writes a swordsman certificate awarded to Kojirō, and entrusts Tenki to find Kojirō and give it to him. The story then implies that Jisai passes away. Wanderings Now travelling together, Ittōsai names Kojirō's style as Ganryū (巌流, rock style) and, to get challengers, advertizes him as Invincible Under The Heaven. The fighter Gonnosuke Musō also claims that, and fights each one: both defeat him. Gonnosuke joins them, but is told he is not mentalized yet for mortal combat. Eventually, the 3 go to the Battle of Sekigahara, but they arrive when it is already over. A young soldier approaches them: Takezō Shinmen (who will be Musashi Miyamoto). The 4 fight together against squads of survival hunters, killing many. Eventually, Takezō is defeated when his left leg is shot by an arquebus. Ittōsai kills the gunman and scares off the last hunters remaining. The 3 leave the battlefield, while Takezō lies wounded, setting the events shown at the story's start. Survival missions In the battle's aftermath, groups of peasants that lost all because of the battle are vengefully hunting soldiers. Ittōsai abandons Kojirō in the confusion of these fights, to toughen him up and convert him into his ultimate rival. Reluctantly, Gonnosuke follows Ittōsai. The story then introduces a squad of 6 soldiers that fought for the losing side and are now hiding from the manhunt. They are led by captain Sadakore. They vow to return to their lord in Ōsaka. Then all characters in the story are shown fighting for their lives. During a night combat, Sadakore's squad takes 2 casualties. They make a plan: they will dress as peasants and cross the nearby mountain to reach Ōsaka; if they find enemies, Sadakore will sacrifice himself, as the squad's oldest, so the rest can continue; if things go so bad that only one of them must survive, it will be Ichizō, the squad's youngest. Sadakore's squad reaches the mountain summit, but they find a threatening Kojirō, who has been running and fighting for days without sleep, food nor drink. The squad follows the plan and Sadakore stays to fight Kojirō. Sadakore dominates the fight with his manrikigusari, disarms Kojirō and takes his sword. Kojirō seems to be escaping, but he returns with his left arm wrapped in fabric, which he uses to block Sadakore's sword swings. Eventually the fabric unwraps, revealing that Kojirō was concealing a dagger. Kojirō kills Sadakore. However, the rest of Sadakore's squad has returned. Koun, the squad's strongest, fights Kojirō so vehemently that he breaks Kojirō's sword. Unarmed, Kojirō starts to fight Ichizō instead; he throws him and picks a sword behind him. Ichizō hesitates for too long and Kojirō kills him, to the dismay of his brother Shinjirō who can't fight due to his wound in his left leg. Kojirō renews his fight with Koun. The two are in top physical form and even become faster over the course of the battle. Both have a few close calls. In a final clash, Kojirō kills Koun. The story implies that Shinjirō, the last of Sadakore's squad, dies alone in the mountain's summit. Category:Story Arcs